Should I walk away?? finished sadly!!

[El Destructo]

Lowell....was that Limb twisting any when it was drawn to full Draw??? This looks like a Radial Crack...and could have been caused from it twisting sideways there in that S-Curve in the Limb

[lowell]

Lowell....was that Limb twisting any when it was drawn to full Draw??? This looks like a Radial Crack...and could have been caused from it twisting sideways there in that S-Curve in the Limb

 I think it had to be twisting when drawn but don't think I had anything I could do about the twist..  It made a real odd twist at the crook but like I said I just couldn't leave it alone!!   The nocks seemed on the same plain when at full draw but there was a lot of pressure put on the area of the crook.

[mullet]

  Here's another learning experiance. I don't think it's finished yet with that kind of crack. Heat it lightly and feather super- glue into the crack. Put it away for about a week, let it hydrate and check and fine tune the tiller. That crack is not running off the bow.

[Justin Snyder]

After you get it superglued and finished, you can wrap the area for a little extra insurance.  Some sinew or silk thread will work great.  Justin

[George Tsoukalas]

lowell, I hope you don't mind but here are some comments.. First, you laid the last bow out without following the vertical grain. That is the major reason why the bow cracked. The first thing  I  do is draw a line down the center  of the limbs FOLLOWING (not yelling. caps for emphasis. LOL) that vertical grain. Look closely at the stave. You'll see that grain and it runs nock to nock. In that last picture you laid the stave out going to the right side. You missed the crown or the vertical grain. Second, resist the temptation to  pike a character stave. The limbs are under more stress than in a straight staved bow. Piking increases the stress obviously because you've shortened the limbs. I would have gone LONGER than usual with both stave by an inch or 2. Third, any heating done on a character stave SHOULD be corrective in nature. The limbs are already under stress; reflexing and recurving compounds that stress. Belly tempering to raise weight is out of the question. Same reason. Fourth, forgot what I was going to say. Oh ya. Even though you had a dip in one of those limbs that area still has to do its share of the work. It's gotta bend in an arc. With your eyes try to draw a best fit curve through that limb. Fifth, look at the tiller from both sides. Often a little adjusting is needed. Sixth, forget about getting that picture perfect tiller that you see on lam bows. It ain't happening (bad grammar for emphasis) on a character stave. Rather pay attention to how the stave feels as you shoot it. Note the handle pressure as you draw and let down. Note it as you shoot. Is it even or is one limb tipping? I've always maintained that if you learn from a mistake your effort is not wasted. You've got a great attitude. Keep it up. Here's an applicable buildalong. Jawge
http://mysite.verizon.net/georgeandjoni/seneca.html

[lowell]

George, I appreciate all comments!!

  Not sure what you ment by not following the vertical grain.  Do you mean the last picture of the stave I have a pattern laid out for my next bow?.  I thought I was following the grain as to how the stave split??

 I looked at my center line and thought I had the line following how the grain ran.

 I looked at the picture again.  Do mean the center of nock at the close end of the picture should be centered in the middle of the width of the stave??

[George Tsoukalas]

Let me take another look. Jawge

[George Tsoukalas]

lowell, get the stave and look at it. You'll see grain lines running nock to nock. You went to my right with your lay out. You should have gone to my left. I can see the lines in the picture quite clearly. This is very important. You laid the stave out so the nocks line up but you can't safely do that. Please stick with this until you understand. Jawge

[George Tsoukalas]

The question will be what to do when nocks don't line up. There are a few options not involving heat. But I hope you stick with this vertical grain/crown layout until you understand. Going to bed now. Jawge

[NOMADIC PIRATE]

Yep, what George said,...trying to make a straiter bow by forgoing the crown will eventually lead to a failure.

......the other bow is by no means finished !....for now ..still some options, like previously mentioned by a few.

[M-P]

Sorry to see the result, but I'm glad you started this thread.  I learned something hearing everybody's opinions.  Hopefully you had fun too!
Ron

[lowell]

By Jawge... I think I'm getting it now!!  Will take a good long look at it again. 

 I guess what is throwing me off is.... I thought if I followed the natural split of the wood, I was also folllowing the vertical grain.  And seems like almost all the osage I get has some twist to them too which makes following the crown more confusing!!

  Thanks for making me think more... which will lead to better bows!!

                    Lowell

[George Tsoukalas]

That is correct, Lowell; split staves follow the vertical grain. But you didn't follow the split. Had you drawn your center line down the middle of the stave (crown) you would have been good to go. Rather than driving down the middle of the road you decided to swerve to the left (coming from the center, handle area) possibly to avoid a squirrel.  As I think you are beginning to realize band sawed staves give no roadmap clues. That's not bad as long as you can read that grain. So it's imperative that you stick with this until you understand. It's too bad we can't use our GPS's to read wood grain. LOL. Jawge

[lowell]

Thanks George!!!!... the more you explain the more I understand it!!!!... and you are good at getting it through my thick skull!!8)

 The center line or crown is in the middle of the split edges on either side of the stave,..... no matter what the width of the stave is at any given spot.

  Correct??

 Then for the handle to be in line with the tips I either have to be fussy about the stave I use or do some bending later to get things to line up!!

  Please tell me I'm getting warm!!!

 

[George Tsoukalas]

By Jawge.,I think you've got it, Lowell! You may have to heat and bend to get the string on the handle. But alas there is a way or 2 to try before you resort to heat correcting. Draw that center line down the stave following the vertical grain or crown. No swerving. Watch out for those squirrels. Measure 1/2 of what you want on either side of the line. If you want 1.5 wide  measure 3/4 of an inch on either side. I do that in several places and then connect the lines. Reduce the stave. I don't know if you want to make a pyramid bow or leave it full width until just past mid limb. That's up to you.  I often go with the full length Meare Heath style initially  and begin to narrow to bring the tiller home. Anyway, leave the handle full width and the nock area an inch wide until you string the bow for the first time. I can describe why if you or someone else is interested.  Right now it's nap time. All this advisin' is makin' me a might tuckered.  Jawge